How to Finish Strong Spiritually (when you're running on empty) | Season 9 Ep 6

When we then sit with Paul in his closing chapter, where he calls his life a drink offering poured out to God. No grand flex, no tally of achievements—just a clear testimony: fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith. We unpack his charge to keep a clear mind, avoid foolish quarrels, endure hardship, and teach with gentleness. This is practical discipleship for modern noise: focus over frenzy, compassion over clout, integrity over impulse.

If you’re tired, doubtful, or tempted to bow out, you’ll find honest encouragement here.  Calling is not a spectator sport. Whether your arena is a classroom, a kitchen table, a spreadsheet, or a sanctuary, faithfulness looks like steady obedience when applause fades. We talk about staying in the ring when cynicism bites, trusting God’s presence in the heat, and choosing meaning over metrics. The promise isn’t that the road is smooth; it’s that we don’t walk it alone. Finish strong is more than a slogan—it’s a posture that protects your faith when feelings fluctuate and timelines slip. Your life matters. Your hidden acts of love matter. And the crown of righteousness is not reserved for a few, but for all who long for Christ’s appearing.

If this spoke to you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs strength for their next step, and leave a review so more people can find this conversation. What part of the fight are you stepping back into this week?

Transcript

Welcome And Intent For Study

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey all. Thank you for joining us here at Grab the Faith, where we try to grab the faith and run with it. Join us as we try to learn a little more, grow a little more, and live a lot more. I'm your host, Bobby Gentry Goodwin. Stay tuned for this week's episode. Good morning, good morning, good morning. And I am here this morning talking low because my husband in the other room sleeps. So I hope you can hear me as we study this word together. Are you excited this morning? Excited to dive into the word of God. I'm excited again just to dive in the word of God. This word has so much richness for us. As we just peel back layer and layer and layer, honey, it is here to correct us. It is here to teach us. It is here to encourage us. It is here to speak to us. It is here to minister to us. This word of God, when you open the book, when you open the book, if you just dust it off and open the book, it is so much waiting for you. So let's go ahead and dive into today's lesson. Now listen, it is such a blessing to be back with you this morning. Last week I wasn't with you because I was traveling. I was on the road, going places, starting off one place here in California, flying all the way across the United States to another place. And it was an incredible journey. But honey, if you ever traveled, it was some high places and low places. And I happen to be traveling when all of these fights have been canceled. So it was not a smooth ride, but it had some ups and it had some downs. And listen, this trip reminded me very vividly this week, especially in the light of the word of the week, the previous Bible study, which was, do you remember the word of the week from uh two weeks ago? Well, what was it? I'm gonna give you a chance to answer. If you were with me, you know that that word was follow, follow. And as I mold on that all that week, it just stayed with me last week. And as I made my way through Ubers, through airports, through freeways, sometimes I was sitting, and sometimes I was walking, sometimes I was even skipping, kind of running to get to where I needed to be. But it wasn't a smooth journey. Sometimes I had to sit in a place that I didn't want to sit in. Sometimes I had to sit next to people I didn't want to sit next to. Let me be clear. Some people sat next to me and I said, Oh Lord, are they gonna sit next to me? Sometimes I had to sit next to people I didn't want to sit next to. Sometimes I had to do some things I didn't want to do on this journey as I had to get to one place to another. Listen, that journey got rough sometimes. But I was on it trying to get someplace. I was on it trying to get to my destination. And listen, that reminded me in this Bible study about following. Sometimes when you have a set of directions, you have nothing else to do but to follow. And sometimes it could be tough, sometimes it could be uphill. But if we want to get to our destination, honey, we got to follow. So listen, on my journey, on my travels, I'm trying to make it to a wonderful destination. The time was pretty sometimes, sometimes it wasn't. But I happened to run into a young man. And that young man said to me something that I just couldn't shake. He said to me something that I just couldn't get rid of. And I want to tell you about it. That young man said to me, he was afraid on his journey. He was supposed to meet some people, he was supposed to get to his destination, and he was waiting by that luggage carousel, afraid that his baggage was lost. So he bent my ear about it, honey. He was just complaining and complaining, freaking out. And the bags had not even started to descend yet. But because he didn't see his bag first, because he didn't see his luggage first, he started to freak out. And that reminded me, y'all, of our faith walk sometimes. Sometimes we could be standing by the wayside, waiting for something to be delivered. Sometimes we could be standing by the wayside, waiting for prayer to get answered. Sometimes we could be waiting for the by the wayside, waiting to get to where we think we need to go. And we just have to wait. We just have to wait and see. See, that reminded me of our faith walk. That sometimes we got to grapple with emotions, we gotta grapple with feelings. You know, it's not all howdy howdy on this faith walk. Sometimes we sit waiting for something to show up. Sometimes we feel like we get lost in a shuffle. You hear me? We get lost, or something we was promised just ain't coming through. And like in this man's case, sometimes we just not grateful. One thing that did not grace his mouth was that he was grateful to be on a trip, that somebody had paid that fare for him to get on that plane and get in that airport and start him on his way. He wasn't even grateful. So listen, I'm talking to all of us this morning as we couch in this Bible study. We're gonna be couching with somebody who is an incredible example, an incredible example for us, y'all, about how we posture ourselves as we walk through this faith walk. So today we're gonna be couching none otherwise than with Paul himself. Y'all know Paul out of the New Testament, the writer of most of the New Testament books, the one who had the miraculous conversion, the one who was ministered to the Gentile to let them know they could come on in too. Okay, they've been grafted in too. Listen, we're gonna be couching with him this morning in none other than 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 through 8. Let me say that again in your hearing. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 through 8. Let's read this word of the Lord, and it says this as for me. I love that right there. As for me, I'm not talking about you. As for me, it says, and this is the NLT. My life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. He at the end of his journey, y'all. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. Another version says, I have kept the faith, honey. I have remained faithful, and now the prize awaits me, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge. Now, listen, there's a lot of judges in this world, but he's talking about the real judge, okay? The Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on the day of his return, and the prize, and the prize is not just for me, but for all, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. May the Lord add a blessing to his word. Let's go in prayer. Father, we thank you. We thank you for your mighty word that we may grow up in you, that we may be encouraged in you, that we may be corrected in you, that we may hold on to you. Lord, we want to grab this faith and run with it. We want to be better today than we were yesterday. And we know that if we just follow these directions that is written in the word, that we will end up right where we belong, in your presence. Lord, teach us today as only you can. In Jesus' name, amen. So let's get quickly to it because I only got a few minutes. Now, this is Paul. He's singing his Sayonara song. His His faith walk is almost complete. He's on his deathbed. He is sitting in a jail alone. There's one person with him, but he's sitting in the jail lonely, reflecting on his life. He's doing a look back, y'all. He's looking back in his life, and he is talking to his son in the ministry, wanting to share with him a little bit in this book of 2 Timothy, a little bit about his charge for him, a little bit how he should walk the walk, a little bit how he should stay faithful, and then he wraps it all up with his own journey. I'm gonna speak to my son, but then I'm gonna tell you a little bit about the process for me. And as he's singing his Sayanara song, there are some things we can learn from. Because not only is he teaching Timothy in this whole book, but he's teaching us too on his deathbed conversational. That we can also learn. So if you read this book, he's telling Timothy, and this is Bible study, honey. He's telling, I'm wrapping up a few things, but he's telling Timothy, keep a clear mind, don't be distracted, keep a clear mind. When you're on this race, don't get caught up in the drama. Keep a clear mind and don't be afraid of suffering from the Lord. Suffering may come, trials and tempt trials and tribulations may come, but don't be afraid of the suffering. Because listen, when you suffer with the Lord, you're suffering with him, not alone. Even in that jail, Paul knew that the Lord was with him. He tells Timothy to be patient, to be caring, and to be encouraging. Sometimes he might have to rebuke people, but to be gentle of heart, to love people, and to be kind to them and caring to them. He also shares, and this is for me this morning. Don't get caught up in foolish things. See, sometimes we could get caught up. He's telling Timothy in this book, don't you get caught up in foolish things. There's lots of weeds out here that can get you stuck and stop you from running. Don't you even attend to things that you know is foolish. You've been taught the word of God. Hold on to the word of God. Don't get caught up in this foolish stuff because the world is gonna get crazy. And if you in this world with me today, you know that's the truth. See, it was true for Timothy even back then. The world is gonna get crazy. Don't you go arguing instead of being kind to people and leading them and telling them about me? Keep yourself pure and righteous. See, Timothy, the book of the book, first and second Timothy have some rich stuff in it. But this second book, on his deathbed conversion confessional, he sharing with his son. Stay focused. Paul is reminding him in this book that his life has meaning, his life matters, and it also matters what he does with it. Listen, Saint, I stopped by this morning to let you know that your life matters. Don't get caught up with foolish things that tell you that it don't. Your life matters, your life is meaningful. Even though you just go to work every day, come home, raise your kids, pay your tithe, go to work the next day. Even though you're doing all that, and it may seem mundane, it's meaningful. What you do counts. What you do with your life counts. Hear me this morning. Each and every day you wake up, it's a day that counts. See, he is telling Timothy, stay in the fight. It may get rough, it may get, it may get crazy, but stay in the fight. And as he's telling him, he's reflecting on his own life as he looks in the mirror. Let's be clear. Paul knows he's gonna die. You heard it in the text that I read. And he ain't telling Timothy how glamorous his life has been. He ain't telling Timothy how many boats and cars and homes he has. He's not telling even telling Timothy how many lives he's touched. He's not even telling Timothy what Solomon, what is written in the book of Ecclesiastics one and two, meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher. This is Ecclesiastics 1 and 2, chapter 1, verses 2. Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless. That's what it says in Ecclesiastics. But listen, Paul is telling him that you are meaningful, that what you do means something. Listen exactly to how Paul reflects on his own life. He takes a glimpse as his own life as he's encouraging his son in the faith. He's telling him that if you just stay in the fight, because listen, he reflects on his own life, he gave it all. His life was poured out like a drink offering. What does that mean, Paul? He means that he offered his own life in worship to the Lord. He offered his own life, surrendered to the Lord, surrender for the cause of Christ, for the kingdom of God. He's telling his son, he didn't do what he wanted to do, but he did what he was called to do. Don't you miss that? He's letting him know as he's pouring his life out, he's pouring his life out because it is something that he was called to do and he remained faithful. Listen, Saint, I know that you have church hurt, I know that you've been discouraged on the race. I know that it gets tough sometimes, and some days it's hard to lift your head, some days you feel lost. But listen at Paul this morning. I know you're mad at your preacher, I know you're mad at the church, I know you're discouraged in the faith, but do what you call to do. Stay in the race, fight the good fight. Listen, that's something that Paul says in the second part of this text. Fight the good. He fought the good fight. And I just love this because when you're fighting, you're in a battle. See, I grew up watching WrestleMania, you know, where people getting thrown in that boxing ring, people getting tossed, people getting hit, they getting punched, but they staying in the battle. They want to see the victory at the end. People and things is coming against them. This happens in WrestleMania. People think jumping in the ring, jumping in the ring. If it ain't one thing, it's another. But they stayed in the fight. Listen, that's what Paul is saying. He stayed in the battle, he fought the good fight. He reminds us that we've got to be in the ring fighting, that there will be some opponents, there will be some battles, there will be times where you get knocked down, and even sometimes it feels like you're knocked out. It ain't gonna be easy, but stay in the fight. Paul is letting us know as he reflects on this, he fought the good fight. He stayed in the ring, battling out for his God and for his purpose to the very end. Listen, y'all, we don't love to be in the ring. We might want to watch the fight. If you get on YouTube and Facebook and all of this stuff, you can see battle after battle, people showing fight, fake fights, and real fight. People love to watch that stuff. But here, Paul is saying to us, we can't just watch fighting, we got to be in the fight. Hear me, be in the ring for Christ, be in the ring for the purpose God has assigned you. Be in the ring to advance the kingdom of God. Sometimes I don't want no parts of that battle. I want to be honest. Sometimes I want to lay in the bed on Sunday. Sometimes I won't want to give part of my check. Sometimes I just want to say, forget it. This is too hard to be holy. But the Lord is not leaving you alone. He's in the ring with you. And I want to tell you a truth. If he's in there, just like that fiery furnace, you're gonna come out of there looking beautiful. You ain't gonna smell like smoke. You're not gonna be sweating and bruised up and battered. You're gonna make it to that finish line. Saints, we can't sit on the outskirts of this ring and watch. We can't sit on a stool in the corner, too scared to stand up and get in there. We gotta duke it out sometime. We gotta take on its opponent. Listen, lastly, as we wrap to the end of this Bible study, Paul lets us know it's gonna be tough. We're gonna be in there. We gonna get some bruises and we might have some battles, but we're gonna win this fight. And he fought the good fight of faith. Don't you want that to be said about you? Because when it comes to my funeral, I want my life to speak for me. I want my faith walking, my faith journey to speak for me. I don't want them up there talking about, oh, she did this in her career, oh, she had this many houses, oh she she did this and that. I want them to say she was faithful, that she loved the Lord, that she prayed, that she was delivered, that she stayed in the race. I want them to say that about me, and I hope you want them to say it about you. It don't matter how fancy your career is. What matters at the end of the day is what you do for Christ, because only that will last. Be known for your faith, honey. But lastly, he says this, and I'm done. He's finished his rape race, and he has kept the faith. Listen, keep your faith, saints. I know sometimes that faith meter is running low, but keep your faith, the Lord will replenish, the Lord will replenish. I know sometimes you can feel like you can conquer the world for Christ, and just like Elijah, next day you feel like you gotta hide and run away from it. Keep your faith because Paul lets us know you can make it to the finish line. He got tired sometimes, but he kept running his race. He didn't get distracted by the people that was running alongside him, he didn't get distracted by how far he had to go. He didn't get mad when somebody stepped on his feet. He ran that thing, and he crossed over to that finish line with his faith intact. I want to tell you, just like the song says, no matter what comes my way, hallelujah, anyhow. And I want to encourage you this morning with the word of the week. Because some of us may be closer to the finish line than others. Some of us may feel like we can't take another step. Some of us feel like we getting beat up. But the word of the week for you this morning and for me is to finish strong. Finish strong, saint. Stay in the fight, fight the good fight of faith so that your faith will remain intact. Finish strong. And as you go this week, take 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 7 with you. I'm not on gonna even recite it to you. Look it up yourself and be encouraged by the word of God. Thank you for being with me this morning. May God bless you and keep you this morning, tomorrow morning, and every morning to come. Thank you for being with me. Have a great day.